Film holders



Nov. 19, 1957 J. LoBAcHEwsKl 2,813,471

' FILM HOLDERS Filed Oct. 27, 1955 /1/3 ATTQRN EY United States Patent() FILM HOLDERS Julian Lobachewski, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application October 27, 1955, Serial No. 543,140

Claims. (Cl. 95-100 This invention relates to improvements in film holders, and more particularly to a film holder and hanger for retaining a photographic plate or film during the developing and subsequent drying processes.

The known devices of this character feature a frame formed by a plurality of channeled beams for reception of the film edges prior to the insertion of the lm into the developing uid. To permit better drainage of the fluid from the surfaces of the developed film,l such channels are often provided with perforations or drain holes, and sometimes actually consist of a mere series of laterally spaced staggered projections integral with the hanger frame. None of these known devices are capable of eliminating the excessive developing and fogging of the film surfaces which are confined within the above-described channels or projections, since the uniform and simultaneous flow of the developing fluid is not possible.

A further disadvantage of the channeled hangers resides in that the insertion and removal of the film are complicated, and one or more lateral or horizontal slots are necessary whichadd to the manufacturing cost by requiring complex molds or forms.

The novel hanger of my invention overcomes the above enumerated deficiencies and drawbacks of the known film developing hangers in that the edges of the film are free in its frame due to the provision of one or more pairs of retaining members of novel configuration which support and restrict the film body at points distant from its edges.

A further advantage of my film hanger resides in the facility of insertion and removal of the film, in the simplicity of its design and consequent low manufacturing cost.

A still further advantage of my hanger is in that the contact between the film and the frame is reduced to a minimum.

Other features and advantages of my hanger will be pointed out in more detail in connection with the following detailed description of some at this time preferred embodiments which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, wherein similar characters of reference indicate similar elements,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the novel hanger with a film inserted therein, the entire structure being suspended on a drying line;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the hanger in a developing tank, with the retaining throat beams disposed horizontally;

Fig. 3 is a transverse central section taken on line 3 3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 in Fig. 2, showing the steps of inserting and removing the film from the frame; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a further simplified embodiment of the hanger.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. l, there is shown a film developing and drying hanger which includes a frame consisting of a horizontal hanger beam 101, a pair of horizontal frame beams 102, 103, upright beams 104, 105, and two pairs of symmetrically spaced film retaining and supporting members 108. Each of the supporting members 108 consists of an elon gated throat beam or bal 109a-b' and a pair of parallel shorter beams l10n-b', 111a-b', respectively. The free ends of members 109, 110 and 111 are integral with the hanger frame. The inner surfaces of throat beams 109a-b' are convexly rounded so as to reduce the contact with the film surfaces to a minimum. This feature is better shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The film retaining members 108 are comparable to a pair of letters T integrally joined at the free ends of adjacent horizontal members, and will hereinafterbe referred to as double-T-bars. The horizontal beam 101, which is somewhat longer than the frame members 102, 103, is provided with a pair of downwardly extending arms 106a, 106b serving as supports for the hanger in the developing tank, or as hooks when the hanger is suspended for drying of the film. The inner surfaces 103a, 104:1, 105a of frame members 103, 104, 105 are flat so that no impediments are in the path of the developing uid when the film hanger is removed from the developing tank, and the surfaces of the film are entirely free from contact with the supporting frame.

Fig. 2 shows the same hanger with the double-T-bars 208 positioned at a 90 angle with respect to the corresponding members in Fig. 1. The hanger 200 with film 107 is immersed into the developing uid 215 within a developing tank 214, and is supported therein by a pair of parallel rods 213:1, 213b.

It may be observed in Fig. 3, which shows the hanger of Fig. 2 in vertical section, that the symmetrically opposed upper and lower double-T-bars 208 are sufiiciently spaced so as to permit free flow of liquid and to facilitaie the insertion and removal of the film 107.

-(n Fig. 4, the method of inserting and removing the film is shown in dotted and dot-dash lines, respectively. For insertion, the bottom portion of the film 107' is inserted between the throat beams 209b, 209b', and the upper portion bent by exerting force in the direction of arrow 216. When inserted, the film will assume the position shown in full lines at 107. For removal, pressure is exerted against the central portion of the film 107", as indicated by arrow 217 until the upper and/ or the lower edge is removed from the slot formed by respective throat beams 209 of the double-T-bars 208.

A slight modification of the hanger is shown in Fig. 5. As illustrated, the developing tank 314 includes an enlarged portion 314a to form horizontal supporting surfaces 314b for the free ends of members 306a, 30Gb. The hanger 300 includes only one pair of symmetrically disposed double-T-bars 308 with their vertical members 310, 311 of sufiicient length to provide a satisfactory enclosure for the film 107. In this case, the throat beams 309 of the double-T-bars 308 will obviously be horizontal at all times.

As will be observed in Figs. 3 and 4, the inwardly facing surfaces of members 209a-b are convex and form the only contact with the film surfaces. In this manner, practically the entire film surface is subjected to the action of the developing fluid and the danger of damaging the film is eliminated. The cross-sectional illustrations of Figs. 3 and 4 also show the fiat inner surfaces 203a, 204a, 205a of frame members 203, 204, 20S, which insure immediate unrestricted drainage of the developing uid 215 when the hanger is removed from the developing tank 214.

The length of hooks 106a, 106b should approximate 3 about $50 of the length of hanger beam 101, which will insure safe suspension on the drying line 112 even if the hanger is suspended at an angle as shown in Fig. 1. If desired, the intermediate frame member 102 may be omitted and the double-T-bars 108 attached directly to the member 101.

The entire device is preferably made of one-piece lightweight plastic material which is inert to the action of the developing liuid, with the length of members 110, 111 depending on the dimensions of the hanger and of the film for which the hanger is used. As a further alternative,

,additional connecting bars analogous to members 110,

111 may be added, if desired, which would result in lm retaining members 108 of triple-T, quadruple-T, etc. shape.

It will be seen that a novel device has been described and illustrated which positively prevents fogging or excessive developing of the film since its surface is uniformly exposed to the developing iiuid for identical periods of time, and no liquid may be retained in the frame by capillary attraction. Since various changes and modifications may occur to persons skilled in the art, I do not desire to be limited to the exact details shown and described, but only by the scope of the appended claims. I claim:

l. In a device for holding cut photographic films for developing and drying having an elongated hanger beam with a supporting element at each of the extremities thereof, the combination with said hanger beam of a frame including a pair of elongated substantially parallel and spaced side members each having a first end attached to said hanger beam and extending at substantially right angles therefrom, a transverse member substantially parallel with said hanger beam for connecting the second ends of said side members, the inner surfaces of said side membersand of said transverse member being fiat, and at least one film retaining device for retaining a cut photographic lilm within said frame, said retaining device including a pair of elongated parallel throat beams connected to said frame, spaced from one another and delining an elongated slot therebetween, and at least one rer taining member for each of said throat beams, said ,retaining members each having one end connected to one of said throat beams, extending from said throat beams at substantially right angles, and having their other ends connected to said frame.

2. The combination of claim 1, further including a f second transverse member adjacent said hanger beam and substantially parallel with said first named transverse member and having a at surface facing said first-named transverse member, there being provided one lm retaining device in said frame with said throat beams connected between said side members in substantial parallelism with said transverse members and said retaining members extending between said throat beams and said first-named transverse member.

3. The combination of claim 1, further including a second transverse member adjacent said hanger beam and substantially parallel with said first named transverse member and having a at surface facing said first-named transverse member, there being provided two film retaining devices in said frame each including a pair of throat beams connected to said side members adjacent said firstnamed and said second transverse member, respectively, and at least one retaining member extending between each of said throat beams and the adjacent one of said transverse members.

4. The combination of claim 1, further including a second transverse member adjacent said hanger beam and substantially parallel with said first-named transverse member 'and having a at surface facing said first-named transverse member, there being provided one lm retaining device in said frame with said throat beams connected to said transverse members and said retaining members extending between said throat beams and one of said side members.

5. The combination of claim 1, further including a second transverse member adjacent said hanger beam and substantially parallel with said first named transverse member and having a flat surface facing said first-named transverse member, there being provided two film retaining devices in said frame, said throat beams being connected between said transverse members with one pair thereof adjacent the first and the other pair thereof adjacent the second of said side members, and said retaining members extending between each of said throat beams and the adjacent one of said side members.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,747,770 Grin Feb. 18, 1930 2,088,278 Pappajion July v27, 1937 2,118,738 Rieger May 24, 1938 2,238,358 Basin Apr. .15, 1941 

